Best Airstone?

[Chrissy_Bee]

Penny really spends a lot of time at the surface and I'm wondering if there's not enough oxygen in my tank. I bought a 12 inch airstone the other night but it doesn't give a uniform amount of bubbles and they're all large. What's the best option for aeration? Should I get a bubble wall maybe?

[Jack of Hearts]

I really like the bubble wands. They even come with a check valve.

I have a jumbo Tetra Whisper 100 airpump so it put's out a nice thrust.

My dear departed Sosh always loved playing and laying on top of the bubble wands.

[Chrissy_Bee]

I was looking at those and opted not to get one, I think I'll have to go back tomorrow and get one. Thanks

[Jack of Hearts]

I like it because they are made of flexible plastic. I used to use actual air stones and air stone wedges but was never crazy about them. Tiny bits of the stone would just crumble and make a mess over time.

[daryl]

I really like the ceramic bubble sticks. You can bleach them, scrub them and even boil them to clean them. They do, however, have a very bad habit of having the rubber ends fall off and not EVER be able to be replaced properly. They are more expensive, too. I have pretty much stopped using these. They fail too quickly for the price.

I like the small, tightly pressed white stones. They seem to hold up for a VERY long time. They do, however, fall apart when scubbed, bleached or boiled. They are SO cheap that they are useful, though.

I do not like the wooden ones - they fall apart way too soon for their price.

I have various black spheres and blocks that are typically sold at fish shows and such. They are REALLY nice, but not easy to replace. They hold up very nicely and, at show prices, are very affordable.

The flexible wands are pretty nice and you can make random patterns of bubbles in your water. Keep in mind though - they are fairly soft plastic and fairly dense. To force bubbles through it (fine bubbles!) you need a strong air pump. The longer the wand and the deeper you put it, the more powerful a pump you will need. Without a really GOOD pump - plenty of air - you will get only a few bubbles at the end of the wand. These clean easily when wiped, but have a tendency to break - split and crack if bent too often.

I REALLY like bubble disks. These are a large disk - some are 3-4 inch diameter and I have one 8 inch diameter one. They send up a column of bubbles. Because they are encased in a circle of plastic, the pourous material they are made from does not seem to break down. I have bleached and scrubbed these for years. They just keep on bubbling.

I also use the simple cheap blue or green bubble stick/wands. They are cheap - so can be replaced when necessary, can be bleached and scrubbed gently, and can be pierced with a pin when you want more bubbles and/or they get clogged and are not able to be cleaned well enough. They have a habit of snapping in two after a year or two - they get fragile. But in place and undisturbed, they last for a LONG time. They are CHEAP to replace, too.

[alexiscool]

what size air pump do u have?

when i got a bigger one i got more finer bubbles.

Edited October 29, 2008 by FishCrazy

[Jack of Hearts]

I have the Tetra Whisper 100 pump. Plenty of "Horsepower" to run the bubble wands.

[Chrissy_Bee]

I have a good pump but my problem is the airstone. I have a long (14 inch I think) one that's rectangular and mounted in a plastic case to make it easier to attach. For some reason it's just not producing good bubbles.

I've had the disks before too Daryl, mine were clam shaped

I think that'd be a good thing to go back to.

[seheap]

What size airstone should I use with a pump that's 2.2 watts, and 1500cc/min? I have a 1 1/2 inch ceramic airstone but the bubbles coming out are only getting through the top part, not through the rest of the sphere....